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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Do You Leash?

Something that I find curious, leashes. I'm sure there are reasons for pulling out that leash. Safety is one. I can imagine lots of people pointing out that they use leashes for safety reasons. It keeps the little ones from running away. That is all good and fine, but what happens when they turn the leashes on you?

When Thomas and I were first married we flew from Florida to Arizona to have our second wedding with my mom's family. We had a layover in the Houston Airport. While we were there we saw this woman. She was traveling with her four kids and it didn't seem to be going very well. The first time we noticed her she was walking through the airport with all four kids attatched to her by leashes. She had a suitcase and although three of the kids were walking (none of them were babies) one of them was definitely closer to being dragged.

The three kids who were walking weren't much improvement on the "dragged" kid, because the three "walkers" were all trying to walk in different directions! It made me think of those old western movies when the townsfolk would get really angry at a guy and threaten that he might be drawn and quartered. I could just see this poor woman being pulled in three different directions!

She finally corralled all four kids into the bathroom (these western words are really working for me today) and we didn't see them for a long time.

Finally, after a long wait, it was time for our plane to board. We got in line and Thomas started tapping me and said, "Look! It is the lady with the leashes!"

What I saw when I turned my head........I have wished ever since that I had had a camera with me that day. It needs photographic explanation. It was just so crazy! So crazy in fact, that I decided that since I don't have a photograph I would just have to draw you a picture. Nothing short of that will do.

There she was. One kid trying to escape while simultaneously having wrapped his leash around another one's neck. Two of the kids had run around her in circles and the mom was unable to move due to being tied up. The last kid......this was the one who was being dragged earlier......had climbed on top of a telephone booth that was mounted to the wall! To this day Thomas and I are unsure how he managed to get up there. we had to catch our flight, so I never have known what happened to that mother with all the leashes. I imagine that she might still be there at the airport all these years later tied up and stuck under that phone booth, but hopefully she was able to make it to her airplane.

I had never given leashes much though before this incident. On that day, Thomas and I decided that we were not leash parents. It is just too dangerous. You might be able to use that leash to keep your kid attached to you.....but you never know when they might turn on you and tie you up with it!
______________________________________________________________This was originally featured as a guest post at Curiosity.

My step daughter HAS to put one of those on her 3 yr old when she travels & brings the 1 yr old as well. She can carry the baby in a sling, but with the stroller & luggage - the 3 yr old would be flat GONE if she didnt have it around him. When they get to us as the airport, I always take the "leash" & whip it line Santa would his reindeer!!! :)

LOVE the illustration, that is awesome! I have never used a leash on my son because he does a good job of holding my hand and not straying away. I have witnessed people using leashes on their kids and I chuckle every time.

My golden retriever hates being on a leash, we actually had to get one that goes around her ears (it is called a gentle leader) so when she pulls, it creates discomfort at her pressure points. That has helped tremendously, but somehow I don't think there will be any kid inventions like that. :)

I used one when my youngest was a toddler. She refused to sit in the shopping cart & hated to be carried. The only way to go ANYWHERE with her was a leash. We would put it on under her clothes & then the leash would come out of the back of her collar, etc. She absolutely loved it! It gave her the freedom to walk & I knew where she was every minute. People often pointed & laughed or made comments (Look, she looks like a dog!) but I didn't care. My child was safe & happy. I know it's not for everyone but it worked for me.

at first I thought you were talking about DOG leashes -- haha... I really don't get the leash thing -- I think the poor kid always looks miserable. I may change my mind once I actually have a kid but that is my opinion for now

Oh, that is hilarious! I did use one for a while on my middle son. When he had just turned 3 but couldn't really understand when we would say that he had to stay with us(processing problems- he didn't understand much). And we had a 4 y/o and a 1 year old. Only used it when we went to Disney or the crowded zoo.

If we went somewhere very crowded and I knew it would be difficult, then I did leash. I had one that was worn on the wrist and one that was like a halter with the leash coming off the back. I do not regret it at all. We got where we needed to go and the kids loved it. My 20-year old recently told me how much she remembers loving it when she was on a leash.

I have five kids. So when I took them out on my own in a crowded place it was more important for me to have peace of mind than to worry about what others thought about it.

If I had a child who climbed on top of phone booths, I'd be a-leashing, too!

I've never been one for the leash, but one year a big group of us went to the state fair and my neighbor's 5 year old son wandered away from us. Talk about heart attack moments! A 5 year old lost at the state fair almost killed each and every one of us as we ran through the acres of rides and carnies, screaming his name. We found him after too many worried minutes. His mother tromped right on over to a tent that was selling them and put one on him. That was the day I started looking at them as protection instead of punishment.

I can't stop laughing! From your title, I thought you were talking about leashes for your dog. We certainly haven't used leashes for our four little ones, but leashes or not, sometimes I FEEL like that poor woman traveling alone with four young children!

My husband and I knew we would never be leash parents, but we also knew we were only having one child. We kept him in a hiking backpack or a stroller, though, as long as was appropriate. My nephew, years earlier, got lost in public places when I was with my sister a couple of times and that scared the bejeebers out of me!

Oh how I understand that woman's desperation to figure out a way to contain her children, but I know I would totally end up bound and tied if I even attempted it :) Thank goodness two of them are still in a stroller!

I used to frequent a World run by a Giant Mouse quite often (the roomie worked there), and I'd see parents with leashes on their kids all the time. Situations like that, where there are a hundred people moving around you at all times and kids can disappear fast? yeah, I'd use a leash. Otherwise, I don't think I'm going to be a leashing parent.

That drawing is awesome!I've never leashed my children and I can't imagine a point where I feel so out of control that I'd need to. But I have seen some kids who look like they could use one, so who knows. ;)

That is so funny : ) My sister had one for her 2.5 year old once when they went to an amusement park. She said it helped her with the crowd but for the most part, she would not utilize it on an every day basis.

I have four kids. I was not a leash parent, but in retrospect, one of my busy bodied kids probably would have been safer with one all. At all time. Even in the house. One time I found the little bugger standing on top of the fridge.

I got a leash as a baby shower present. before then i had no idea they existed. I tried it on my daughter one time in a department store and she scream like the boogie monster was eating her alive. it was so bad all i could do was laugh hysterically as i ran out of the store with her. Never used one again.